Jealousy Destroys-But Jealousy Can Find True Love.
by OceanPrincess
Summary: Harry and Herm have been dating for two years, when Whitney comes along and steals Harry's heart. Herm mopes, but her true love is right beneath her nose.


Hermione's Jealousy  
  
~The Ocean Princess (  
  
Hermione and Harry had been dating since their fifth year. It was the middle of their seventh year. Hermione's waist had thinned considerably; her teeth were sparkling clean and had straightened out. Her light brown hair's curls had straightened, and, well, she was the smartest girl in her Year.  
  
  
  
Hermione sat, curled up by the fire in Gryffindor Tower, listening to everyone talk about their day, and offering advice and helpful hints every few minutes. Harry walked in, panting for breath excitedly. Hermione sat up and asked, "Harry-what's wrong?"  
  
  
  
"Nothing," Harry replied, "But I have the best news!"  
  
  
  
Everyone sat up and paid attention. "I just spoke with Professor McGonagall, and a new student is transferring to Gryffindor! She's in the seventh year, and, Herm, she's gonna be in your dorm!"  
  
  
  
"Cool! What's her name and when is she arriving?" Hermione was genuinely excited. She was hopeful to making a new friend out of this girl.  
  
  
  
"She's Whitney and she's arriving tomorrow morning at seven. Herm, I volunteered to help her around for her first week. I hope that's OK."  
  
  
  
"It's fine," Hermione shrugged, "But if I'm going to get up at seven in the AM, I've gotta get to bed." She bid her friends and Harry good-bye, and lay down on her bed. Within seconds, she had fallen asleep.  
  
  
  
Hermione opened her eyes crankily to the buzz of her alarm clock, a neat Muggle device Harry had gotten her. She shoved the button on the top down and the clock stopped buzzing. She quietly shoved the covers down, stepped into her slippers, and pitter-pattered to the Girls' Changing Room.  
  
Hermione groggily flicked the light on, another Muggle contraption, and grabbed the brush. She carefully brushed out her shoulder-length brown hair. Herm then took her clothing off and squirted perfume on her wrists, stomach, neck, and elbow pits. She sniffed in deeply and sighed.  
  
Quickening her pace, she changed into her long black robes and carefully placed her wizarding hat. She placed seven knuts in her pocket in case she needed to buy a phone call, and headed down the stairs into the common room.  
  
Harry was sitting on a comfortable arm chair in front of the flickering fire, shiverring.  
  
"Hey, Harry," Hermione say softly, sitting across from him. He offered a warm smile in return. Just then, the Fat Lady Portrait swung open and Professor McGonigall entered. Harry and Hermione stood and fixed plastic smiles upon their faces in anticipation of Whitney.  
  
Whitney entered seconds later. She was tall, thin, and beautiful. Long, curly blonde hair fell to her waist. Big brown eyes were set above her perfect sized nose. Her perfect nose was positioned above a shimmering smile. Her teeth were a pearly white and her lips were a frosty (artificial) pink. Her legs were long and thin. She was wearing hiphugger black leather pants and a white, fuzzy sweater. She lifted her long eyelashes and looked at them.  
  
Harry was speechless.  
  
Hermione stepped forward and offered her hand to shake. "Hey, I'm Hermione Granger."  
  
Harry dragged a breath in and offered his hand as well. "I'm Harry Potter."  
  
"Harry Potter?! No way! Aunt Minerva, you didn't tell me Harry Potter was gonna be my guide!" Whitney was excited.  
  
"Aunt?" Hermione spat out.  
  
Everyone looked at her. "Um, yes," Whitney replied stiffly, "But...Who's gonna introduce me to Albus?"  
  
"Albus?" Harry's turn to be shocked.  
  
"Yeah," Whitney wrinkled her brow, "We e-mail, he lets me call him that."  
  
Minerva cleared her throat and excused herself.  
  
"Well, c'mon, Herm, let's introduce Whitney to all the teachers!" Harry ws already leading Whitney out of the room.  
  
~~~  
  
"That is correct, Whitney! My goodness, you seem to have the book memorized!" Flitwick was ecastic. "So, I suppose that should be an additional fifteen points to Gryffindor Tower!"  
  
"All right!" some of the students hissed, high-fiving Whitney. Hermione grimaced.  
  
~~~  
  
"Whitney, may I speak to you out in the hall?" Madame Hooch asked in their next class.  
  
Hermione used a spell to focus her ears on the conversation and enhance her hearing. "...And so, Gryffindor needs another Chaser. Would you be interested?"  
  
"Would I!" Whitney exclaimed out in the hall.  
  
"I'll take that as a yes?" Madame Hooch was beaming.  
  
"Absolutely! But who will teach me?" Hermione could hear Whitney's pearly whites chewing her bottom lip.  
  
"Harry is on your team, in your year, and the team captain..." Madame Hooch began, "What're the odds?"  
  
"Thanks!" Whitney exclaimed.  
  
~~~  
  
Later on that night, Harry approached Hermione. "Herm, we gotta talk."  
  
Hermione pushed her work aside. "Go ahead, I'm always listening."  
  
Harry chewed his lip. "Herm...Lately I've been founding that me and Whitney...well...we get along so well, we have so much in common...Herm, you and I really don't...We're positively opposites, you know..."  
  
"So just because a prettier girl comes along, you're ditching me?" Hermione's eyes were tear-filled.  
  
  
  
Hermione was miserable. Harry's words echoed in her head. Whtiney had yet to show her face in the dorms. Lavender had tried her best to comfort Hermione, but there was nothing anyone could do.  
  
The door swung open and Whitney waltzed in, looking disgustingly perfect as usual. "Hey girls!" she called. All of the dorm, save for Hermione, ran over and greeted Whitney joyously.  
  
"How did it go?" Ginny Weasley asked, grabbing Whitney by the arm.  
  
"Oh, he was wonderful," Whitney oozed her all-too smooth words.  
  
Everyone's attention was caught.  
  
"Details," Lavender demanded. There was a collective murmer of agreement.  
  
"Well," Whitney seated herself on her bed and tugged at her boot, "He took me out to dinner. It was a private table for two in Hogsmeade! The bill came to around a hundred galleons, but when I took out my purse, he put his hand on my arm and said he would pay! He was ever so romantic throughout the entire dinner."  
  
The girls cooed a collective: "Awwwwwwww!"  
  
Lavender was hungry for more. "Did he kiss you? Did you kiss him? Did he give you a rose? Tell us!"  
  
Whitney was still tugging at her boot. "Well, when we got in the horse- drawn, he gave me a rose. And, before I came up here and we said good- night, he kissed me!"  
  
Hermione sat upright. That was it. Harry had considered kissing a very sacred type of expression, and he had given her their very first kiss (on the cheek, not to mention!) after three weeks of dating. She was enraged. The only time she had received flowers was on Valentine's Day and when she was feeling down. She walked down to the Common Room and sat next to the dwindling fire, shivering in the cold. "Want me to go get a few logs?" came a breathy voice from behind her.  
  
Hermione jumped and turned to see Ron Weasley grinning in the dark at her.  
  
"Ron!" she scolded, "To you come down here just to scare people like that?"  
  
"No," Ron replied, sitting down on the couch across from the armchair she was sitting in. "I couldn't sleep."  
  
"Why not?" Hermione asked curiously.  
  
Ron looked sheepish. "Well..."  
  
"Yeah?" Hermione was a bit annoyed.  
  
"Harry's always had a girlfriend. I'm his best friend. I'm known as 'the best friend of the heartbreaker'. It's just not fair. And he's never around; He's always either with you or with his crew, while I hang around and wait for him." Ron was bitter.  
  
"Yeah, well, he won't be spending all his time with me anymore," Hermione said glumly, "He dumped me for Whitney."  
  
"If you ask me," Ron said shyly, "He didn't deserve you anyway."  
  
Hermione looked at Ron, wondering what on Earth he meant. He had just said that Harry hadn't deserved her...Unfortunately, Hermione couldn't figure out just what he meant by that.  
  
  
  
So, she asked.  
  
  
  
"I mean..." Ron chewed his bottom lip, searching for words, "He never really liked you, liked you...I mean, what does his leaving you for a dumb, pretty girl say? That's solid proof. He never really got excited for any of your dates, even though I spotted you doing your hair and shopping for robes for hours beforehand. You're a nice girl, Herm, and I would hate to see all of it go to waste. You deserved someone much better."  
  
  
  
Hermione blinked. She swallowed her fears, her worries, and her doubts, which were balled together in her throat. "Like?" it came out a raspy whisper.  
  
  
  
Ron licked his lips to buy himself time and closed his eyes. He didn't say a word as he leaned forward and kissed her. Herm felt something special behind that kiss, something she had never felt with Harry. Never. She wondered if maybe Ron and her were meant to be. But that didn't matter. All that mattered was that they were there together.  
  
A/N: I've written The Next Generation, which is when Ron and Hermione's daughter and Whitney and Harry's son fall in love at Hogwarts. Sorry I didn't post in chapters, but my computer's a pain. Review, please! 


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